Two-wheel road-grader and field-ditcher



A. JOHNSON.

TWO WHEEL ROAD GRADER AND FIELD DITGHER.

AI PLICATION FiLED OCT. Ia, 1920.

1,898,326, Patented. Nov. 29, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

.A. JOHNSON.

7 TWO WHEEL ROAD GRADER AND FIELD DITCHE R.

APPHCATION FILED ocT. 137. 920.

1,398,326; Patented Nov. 29, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

"mill!!! IIHINIIII awe/who;

A. JOHNSON.

TWO WHEEL R'OAD GRADER AND FIELD DITCHER.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 13, 1920.

1,398,3Z6. I Patented Nov; 29, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

WW ATW iTEn STATES ASA JOHNSON, OF DAYTON, TENNESSEE.

TWO-WHEEL .ROAD-GBADER AND FIELD-DITCHER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented N or". 29, 1921.

Application filed October 13, 1920. Serial No. 416,676.

To allwhomit may concern:

Be it known that I, ASA JOHNSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dayton, in the county of Rhea and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Two- VVheel Road- Graders and Field-Ditchers, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to grading and ditching machines, land particularly to machines for grading roads and cutting ditches of the type wherein an angularly disposed scraper blade is mounted upon a wheeled supporting frame having draft appliances thereon. I

The general object of this invention is to provide a two-wheel road grader and field ditcher especially designed to equalize the load so as to give to the grader all of the qualities of a four-wheel grader, but of such a lighter construction as will permit the grader to be operated by one many and drawn by two draft horses. I

A further object of the invention is to provide means whereby the axle may be extended so as to expand the wheel base of the machine eighteen inches and thereby permit the movement of the dirt from the edge of the ditch back far enough to rehandle without slipping into the ditch.

A further object ;is to provide improved means whereby the blademay be Inanipulated or adjusted so as to cut the grade or ditch at any desired depth or slope.

Another object is to provide means whereby the blade and the adjusting levers therefor may be used for jacking up one side of the machine so that the axle maybe extended or shortened.

A further object is to provide improved draft means for connecting thedoubletrce to the machine so as to equalize the draft and balance the graderand each part thereof on two wheels and so eliminate the necessity for four wheels.

Other objects will appear in thecourse of the following description.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a view in top plan of a grader constructed in accordance with an embodiment of my invention, the land wheel being shown extended. the inner or retracted position of said land wheel being indicated by dotted'lines. a

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the 1 tional View illustrating in detail the operative connection of a beam with the grader blade and the connection or the brace rod with said beam. Fig. 5 is a fragmentaryview in perspective of the grader blade and the tilting arm carried thereby.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view in top plan of the overlapping end portions of the axle section, the coacting locking pin being shown in separated relation.

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the first operation of my improved grader and wherein said grader is in a position to remove the dirt from the bottom of a ditch.

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the second operation of my improved grader and wherein the axle is in extended position to carry the dirt back from the edge of the ditch, and i Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic View illustrating a third operation of my improved grader and wherein the wheels are in their retracted relation and wherein the device is out of the ditch and free from slipping.

Referring to these drawings, it will be seen that the axle of my improved grader machine is constructed in two parallel parts 10 and 11. Each of these parts is cranked downward at its outer end, as at 12, and then outwardly extended to pass through the hub of the wheels 13. These axle bars 10 and 11 are flat and lay flat against each other, and the axle section 10 is shiftable with relation to the axle section 11. "The axle section 11 is connected to an approxi- 'mately rectangular frame 14 which includes a transverse bar 15. This frame 1 k, as be fore stated, isattached to the front axle bar or section 11 but is unattached to the rear axle bar or section 10. The axle section 10 slides through three cuffs 16, and the confronting faces of the axle sections are formed with registerable grooves l7, through which a pin 18 maybe disposed to hold the axle sections in an extended or contract-ed position, that is, there are two of these grooves in the section 10 which are adapted to register with the single groove 17 in the section 11 when the axle is contracted or expanded. The, pin and these grooves hold the axle section 10 in extended position. The pinis inserted between the, two parallel halves of the axle at their middle portion when closed and near the extremity of ,the section 10 when the axle is extended. The rectangular frame 141, which includes the cross bar 15, as before stated is-fastened to the front lateral half of the parallel axle and to the tongue by means of the U-shaped strap, 19 just back of where the doubletrees are suspended, as will hereafter appear;

At each forward corner of the frame there are provided two downwardly extending brackets 20, which extend downward approximately eight inches, and attached to the lower ends of these bracketsare the forward ends of rearwardly extending steel beams 21 whose rear ends are downwardly curved or .bent, as at 22, The grader blade 23 is of usual shape and is longitudinally straight but iscurved vertically. The rear face of the blade adjacent its ends is provided. with swiveled U-shaped members 2a, through which pass bolts 25 which pass loosely through the ends of the beams 21. These bolts form pivots upon which the grader blade may swing so that the upper edge of the blade may be carried forward or rearward, thus providing for inclining the blade to different angles. Each of thebolts 25 is of a length substantially greater than the thickness of the adjacent end of the beam 21 so that the blade 23 may be shifted laterally of the machine to a limited extentas the occasions of practice may prefer. The beam 21,

however, is maintained in substantially a fixed point of'connecti'on with the pin 25 by the washers 25 placed on either side of the beam 21 as theoccasions of practice may prefer. WVhen'it is desired toslightly shift the blade 23 in a direction laterally of thermachine, the pin 25 is removed and the washers 25 readjusted as the requirements of prac tice may necessitate.

It is also preferred that thefree end portion of each of the beams 21 coacting with a pin 25 be bent in a lateral direction to one side of the beam 21 sov that the pin 25 may be parallel to the longitudinal center line of the blade 23.

The central parts of the curved portions 22 of the beams 21, and particularly at the points of greater" curve, are connected by the brace orstay rod 26 which acts to maintain the grader beams 21 in a substantially horizontalposition and substantially in parallelism whereby said beams 21 are steadied,

and also whereby the blade 23 may move freely onthe bolts 25 as required.

Mounted upon the frame 14; on each side of. the frame are the U-shaped racks 27, and pivotally mounted upon these racks are the levers 28' and 28, these levers being pivoted tovertic-al links 29 which extend downward and embrace the beams 21 and are pivoted thereto. It will benoted, of course, that one mg bolts 30 engaging the racks whereby the levers may be held in any adjusted-position. It will be seen that by operating these levers, the scraper blade may be raised or lowered as a whole or one side of the scraper blade may be shifted downward below the other side of the scraper blade. v The scraper blade is to be tilted by means of a lever 31 which is pivotally mounted upon an arcuate rack 32 and has a hand operated bolt 33 engaging this rack to hold the lever in any adjusted position. This lever at its lower end'is connected by a link 34to an arm 35 extending upward from and attached to the upper edge of the scraper blade, and thus it will be obvious that as the lever 31 is shifted, the blade will be tilted to a greater or less extent. This lever, therefore, controls the angle of the grader blade with the ground or road bed to be graded, and when moving the grader over the road to a new location, the blade is shifted forward, that is, tilted forward, so as not to, allow the blade to touch the traction wheel 13. By shifting the blade to a vertical position and pressing ting the blade to be adjusted for ditching or for grading roads.

Connected to one of the beams 21 and preferably adjacent to one end of the brace or stay rod 26 'isa chain 36 which extends laterally and upwardly and is connected to a 100k 37 carried by the front section of the axle. Also connected to the left hand beam 21 at its point of connection to the brace 26 is a chain 36 which extends laterally and forwardly and is connected to a hook 37 carried upon the forward section, These chains act to prevent any lateral swinging movement or strain on the beams 21 caused by the inclination of theblade to the line of draft. They act, when the grader blade is lowered in cutting the dirt, to keen the grader blade from extending or shifting out beyond the landing wheel 13 and cutting into the bank and cause the rader blade to cut in advance of the landing wheel so as to tongue of the grader'would be pulled toward the bank. This chainis idle only when the axle is contracted.

The grader blade, which is approximately five feet long, is disposed at an angle of 45 to the line of draft, and has its forward point just in front of the land wheel under ordinary circumstances and cuts a track for that wheel to travelin. The angle of the blade is such and the blade is so placed with relation to the other parts of the grader that it sheds the dirt off its rear end like themold board of a plow, completely removing the dirt from the point of the grader blade a distanceof four feet. This blade is so attached to the levers 28, 28 and 31 that the angle of the blade both vertically and laterally may be changed at the will of the operator so as to suit the condition of the work to be accomplished by the grader.

It will be understood that the clevises or members 24 are so connected to the grader blade that the blade maybe moved up as the point of the blade is worn off, thereby in creasing the life of the grader by many years. The doubletree 39 is swung beneath the tongue by means of eight-inch chains 40,

' and is disposed on the same level as the forward. ends of beams21 where they join the brackets 20. From a common clevis 41 there extends rearwardly two stay chains 42 to a point fourteen inches back at the ends of the beams 21, and these chains are hitched to the beams at this point so as to distribute the draft of the grader. These chains give to this grader a'perfect poise and balance as though it had four wheels and take the weight of the tongue from the necks of the horses andgive toeach side of thegrader an even draft, masmuch as these 'chainstend to pull down the rear end of the machine and apply a draft thereto which will tend to raise the tongue. These chains apply the draft to the beams 21 where it is particularly needed. A seat 48 'is attached to the rear end of the tongue in the usual manner.

By forming the axle in two sections 10 and 11 and having the section 10 shiftable with relation to the section 11, the axle may be extended to one side of the line of draft a distance of'ei hteen inches, and by this means the dirt tiathas been brought from the bottom of the ditch four feet by means oft h'e blade 23 maybe moved anadditional and eighteen inches, and then by shortening the axle in the manner heretofore described, the wheel is immediately turned to its original position and then thebar may be moved four feet from the top of the ditch without the wheels slipping back into the ditch.

I claim i I l. A grader and ditcher of the character described comprising an axle, traction wheels mounted thereon, a tongue connected to the axle, a frame attached to the axle andextending forward therefrom and connected to the tongue, downwardly extending brackets on the forward corners'of the frame, scraper supporting beams operatively connected to the extremities of the brackets and extending rearward therefrom, a scraper blade tiltably mounted upon the beams, oppositely disposed levers operatively connected to the beams to raise or depress them, means forholding the levers in adjusted positions, and a lever operatively mounted uponthe frame and having operative connections to said blade whereby the blade may be tiltably adjusted.

2. A grader and ditcher of thecharacter described comprising an axle, traction wheels mounted thereon, a tongue connected to the axle, a frame attached to the axle and extending forward therefrom and connected to the tongue, downwardly extending brackets on the forward corners of the frame, scraper supporting beams operatively connected to the extremities of the brackets extending rearward therefrom, a scraper blade tiltably mounted upon the teams, oppositely disposed levers operatively connected to the beams to raise or depress them, means for holding the levers in ad'- j usted positions, a lever operatively mounted upon the frame and having operative connections to said blade whereby the blade may be tiltably'adjusted, and chains operatively connected to the rear ends of the beams and crossing each other and operatively connected to the axle.

3. A grading and' scraping machine of the character described including a supporting frame, an axle in two sections, one'of said sections being faston the frame the other section being laterally adjustable rela-.

tive to the frame and the first named section, supporting wheels mounted upon said axle sections, beams pivotally connected at their forward ends to the forward end of the frame and extending to a point rearward of the axle and downwardly turned, one of said beams being longer than the other, a scraper blade mounted upon the rear ends of the beams and extending at an angle to the line of draft, and means con nected to the beams whereby they may be independently vertically adjusted.

4. A grading and scraping machine of the character described including a supportgage V the ing frame, an axle in two sections, one of said sections being fast on the frame, the other section being laterally adjustable relative to the frame and the first named section, supporting wheels mounted upon said axle sections, beams 'pivotally connected at their forward ends to the forward end of the frame and extendingto a point rear ward of the axle and downwardly turned, one of said beams being longer than the other, a scraper blade mounted upon the rear ends of the beams and extending at an angle to the line of draft, and means connected to the beams whereby they may be independently vertically adjusted and including racks mounted upon'the frame on each side thereof, levers pivotally mounted upon the racks and having latches to enthe racks and hold the levers in adjusted position, and links operatively connected to the levers and operatively con- .nected to the frame. 1

5. A rading and scrapmg machine of the character described including a support ing frame, an axle in two sections, one of said sections being fast on the frame, the other section being laterally adjustable relative to the frame and the first named section, supporting wheels mounted upon said axle sections, beams pivotally connected at their forward ends to the forward end of the frame and extending to a point rearward of the axle and downwardly turned, one of said beams being longer than the other, a scraper blade mounted upon the rear ends of thevbeams and extending at an angle to the line of draft, means connected to the beams whereby they may beindependently vertically'adjusted and including racks mounted upon the frame on each side thereof, levers pivotally mounted upon the racks and having latches to engage the racks and hold the levers in adjusted position, links operatively connected to the levers and operatively connected to the frame, the scraper blade being tiltably connected to the rear ends' of the beams and having an arm extendingupward from the blade, a lever mounted upon the frame, means for holding the lever in adjusted position, and a link operatively connecting said lever to the arm.

6. A grading and scraping machine including a supporting frame, an axle formed in two sections, one of said sections being fast on the frame, the other section being laterally adjustable relative thereto, wheels mounted on the ends of-the axle sections and supporting the machine, beams pivotally' connected to. the forward corners of frame and extending rearward of the axle, one beam being longer than the other,

an angularly disposed scraping-blade carried by said beams, means mounted upon the frame for vertically ad usting eaoh of said the adjustable beams independently of the other, and a chain connected to the outer end of the movable axle section and to the forward endof the frame and rendered taut when the axle section is shifted to increase the space between the wheels.

7. A grading and scraping machine including a supporting frame, a single axle therefor having cranked ends, wheels mounted upon the ends of the axle, said axle being formed in two sections, one of said sections being fixed to the supporting frame, the other section being shiftablerelative thereto whereby the wheel base may be contracted or expanded, brackets extending downward from the forward corners of the supporting frame, beams pivoted to said brackets and extending rearwardly therefrom and having their rear ends downwardly bent, said beams being of unequal length, the shorter beam being adjacent the supporting wheel on the shiftable axle section, a brace operatively connected to the longer beam adjacent the upper end of the scraper blade and connected to the shorter beam adjacent the lower edge of the scraper blade, crossed chains, one chain being attached to the fixed axle section adjacent its outer end and extending rearward and being connected to the rear end of the shorter beam adjacent the upper edge of the blade, the other chain being connected to the rear' end of the longer beam adjacent the upper edge of the blade and extending forward and-attached to the endof the fixed axle section adjacent the supporting wheel mounted upon the shiftable axle section, manually operable means mounted on the supportinglframe for independently raising or lowering either one of the beams, and means mounted on the supporting frame for tilting the blade with relation to a vertical plane. t p

. 8. A grading and scraping machine of the character described including an axle cranked at its ends, supporting wheels mounted on the" axle, sald axle b'emg formed in two sections, one of said sections being shiftably adjustable upon the other section,

a scraper blade swung beneath the axle, and

manually operable means for depressing the scraperblade to thereby raise the wheel of axle section off the ground and supportthe machine with the wheels of the adjustable axlesection off the ground to thereby permit the axlejsection to be adjusted. a a

9. A grading and scraping machine including an axle cranked at its ends, supporting wheels mounted thereon, a rectangular supporting frame attached to the axle and extending forward thereof, a tongue attached to theaxle at its rear end and at its forward end operatively connected to the supporting frame, brackets extending downward from theforward cornersof theframe,

beams connected at their forward ends to said brackets and extending rearward therefrom and then downward, a scraper blade carried upon said beams and angularly disposed with relation to the line of draft, manually operable means for raising or lowering the rear ends of the beams to raise or depress the scraper blade, a doubletree swingingly connected to the scraper blade and disposed beneath the rear portion of the tongue and swingingly connected thereto forward of the front end of said frame and on a level with the forward ends of said beams, and stay chains extending rearward from a point on said doubletree and engaged with the rear ends of the scraper supporting beams.

10. A grading and scraping machine including an axle cranked at its ends, supporting wheels mounted thereon, a rectangular supporting frame attached to'the axle and extending forward thereof, a tongue attached to the axle at its rear end and at its forward end operatively connected to the supporting frame, brackets extending downward from the forward corners of the frame, beams connected at their forward ends to said brackets and extending rearward therefrom and then downward, a scraper blade carried upon said beams and angularly disposed with relation to the line of draft, manually operable means for raising or low-' ering the rear ends of the beams to raise or depress the scraper blade, and a draft evener operatively connected to the tongue disposed on a level with the forward ends of the beams, and flexible connections between said draft evener and the rear ends of the beams. In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

ASA JOHNSON. 

